My Gen Z Cousin Helps Me Keep Up with TikTok

I’m three months TikTok-free (my longest TikTok detox yet?), and out of curiosity, I asked my cousin what’s happening there and what are the things I should know:

1. KATSEYE

First, she sent me a voice message of her singing and bombarded me with videos of her dancing. Akala ko mga general TikTok dance trends yung sinesend nya. Yun pala dance trends specific to KATSEYE songs. I told her I would finally listen to their music.

2. 6-7

Aware ako dito kasi napapakinggan ko sya sa mga podcasts, usually from clueless Gen X and Millennial moms ng mga Gen Z and Gen Alpha kids. Just like them, hindi ko sya magets. So my cousin tried to explain it.

In short, you’re not supposed to get it, you just have to get with it.

PS: Make a “6-7” Google search and see what happens

3. Some sort of a Wicked reference

Nagsend ulit sya ng video of her two hands forming two letter M’s with her fingers while saying, “These are two M’s…”

Tapos binaliktad nya yung kamay nya, now forming two letter W’s, “…and when you flip it around, Wicked Witchhhhh!!”

I didn’t bother to understand this one.

4. Yellow font color

Sabi ko, anong meron sa yellow font? Una kong naisip, Pantone color of the year? Hindi naman, kasi parang white or super light grey yung color of the year. This is her response:

Which leads us to #5:

5. Thought daughter??

At this point, tinamad na syang mag-explain and just sent me a screenshot of a Google search:

My first thought was, “Is this me??” Haha. But not exactly. Siguro this is just 60% me. I don’t find comfort in dark media—I get away from it. I dislike and get frustrated when I’m feeling sad. And I’m against the romanticization of mental distress—I’m all for managing and working with it. Also, I don’t use yellow as a font color (should I start now? haha!)

But some of them: “deeply introspective, overthinker, likes to journal, analyzing social interactions, struggles with anxiety” Yep! That’s me.

6. Lastly, a reco

She asked me if I already watched Jennie’s MMA (Melon Music Awards) performance. Sabi ko, “Not yet. Should I?” And her reply was:

She then went ahead and sent another video of her dancing, probably mimicking Jennie’s performance. Sabi ko, “Ano yan, teaser?” Oo daw. Spoiler daw. Haha.

Sabi ko nga sa pinsan ko, it seems like I’m not missing much. Pero as someone na may mga pinsan at pamangkin na Gen Zs, I still like being somewhat up to date. With a more or less 20-year age gap, it helps a little. Simply put: what interests them interests me.